Supreme Court to Rule on Drug Paraphernalia Conviction as a Deportable Offense

Earlier this week the Court granted cert in Mellouli v. Holder (No. 13-1034) to decide the following question: Whether, to trigger deportability under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i), which provides that a noncitizen may be removed if he has been convicted of violating “any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 802 of Title 21) . . . ,” the government must prove the connection between a drug paraphernalia conviction and a substance listed in section 802 of the Controlled Substances Act.